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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29787327">Playlist</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chai_pandemic17/pseuds/chai_pandemic17'>chai_pandemic17</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Saltwater [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Communication, Cute, Cute Yamaguchi Tadashi, Established Relationship, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Gay, Holidays, M/M, Music, Nighttime, Nonverbal Communication, Not Canon Compliant, POV Alternating, POV Third Person, POV Tsukishima Kei, POV Yamaguchi Tadashi, Snow, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, movie theaters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:02:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,677</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29787327</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chai_pandemic17/pseuds/chai_pandemic17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The holidays. The time of year that could either be the best, or the absolute worst. How will it go with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi alone in the household for the entire holiday break?</p><p>It starts off with a movie theater, a voicemail, and a playlist.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tsukishima Kei &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Saltwater [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189511</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Playlist</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've finally begun writing once again! Please read "Be My Halo" - the much longer fanfic that this fic and the "Apple Trees" fic tie into. "Be My Halo" is centered around Hinata and Kageyama, as well as Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and Kuroo and Kenma. "Apple Trees" focuses on Asahi and Nishinoya. This fic focuses on Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.</p><p>I'm planning to continue writing this shorter, tie-in fics until I've gotten through as many of the Karasuno pairings as I can!</p><p>The setting: holiday break, during Hinata's first year.</p><p>(You can read this all together as a chaptered fic instead of a series, if you'd like - just check out my works for "Saltwater"!)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>(Tsukishima’s POV)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The cool air of nighttime during winter in Japan brushed Tsukishima’s face as he stepped out of the theater. People brushed past him, and he let out a cloudy breath as he moved to the side, out of the way. For just a moment, he stood there, watching the stars slowly reveal themselves to him. They winked and danced as scenes from the movie they’d just watched flitted through his mind.</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima tucked his hands into his sweatshirt, finally feeling the cold seep into his bones, even though the back of his neck was damp with sweat. In his pocket, he bumped his phone, familiar and comforting. With another sigh, he turned away from the sky and pulled it out, clicking it on. He first saw the “Notifications Muted” message, of course; then, however, were the “Missed Call” and “New Voicemail” icons.</p><p> </p><p>Before he could unlock his phone, a voice as familiar as his own called out to him. “Tsukki!” He looked up, blinking past his glasses.</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi, green-haired and freckled, came into focus mere feet from him. He was much better dressed for the weather, having had the sense to pull a red flannel over his black hoodie and jeans, but his teeth chattered regardless as he grinned. Tsukki felt his muscles relax, though he hadn’t realized he’d been tense.</p><p> </p><p>“Yamaguchi,” he greeted, receiving a grin in response.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you like the movie?”</p><p> </p><p>Knowing he’d follow, Tsukki tucked his phone back into his pocket for now and began to make his way toward the short row of parked cars across the otherwise quiet street. Street lamps casted pools of light around him, bouncing off his glasses as he looked, heavy-lidded, to first his left, then his right, before crossing.</p><p> </p><p>He heard scuffing behind him as Yamaguchi dutifully followed, expectant. “Well?”</p><p> </p><p>Tsukki briefly thought back. <em>Dinosaurs, big and monstrous, the results of near-perfect evolution. A marvelous plot in which many humans had fallen victim to the beautiful creatures. </em>“It was okay.”</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi’s laugh rang out, clear and true in the comfort of darkness.</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” he said, more out of habit than anything.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Gomen, </em>Tsukki,” he grinned, sounding not at all like he’d meant it.</p><p> </p><p>The familiarity did something to Tsukishima’s heart, then, though he’d never put it into words, even if he could. The car keys jingled in his hand as he pulled them out, and the small, silver, hand-me-down car beeped a greeting as they drew near. They went to their respective doors, one silent and the other humming, and opened them, letting the yellow light interrupt the darkness.</p><p> </p><p>~•°•°---------------------°•°•~</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(Note: “Gomen” or “gomen ne” means something along the lines of “forgive me” or “pardon me”. The formal way to say this is “gomen nasai”, while the first two are more casual.)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>~•°•°---------------------°•°•~</p><p> </p><p><em>“Kei! Hey bud, I’m sure you’re used to this by now, but I just wanted to wish you and Tadashi Merry Christmas, since we won’t be here to do that, as usual. I know we already kinda celebrated it before we left, and it isn’t even Christmas Day yet, and… where was I going with this?” </em>The two listened to the voice message from Tsukki’s phone as the car slowly heated up. Yamaguchi giggled. <em>“Anyways, Merry Christmas you two. Hold up the fort for the week, alright? Talk to you later!”</em></p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi let out a short cheer before pulling his seatbelt into place with a click. “Your brother’s always been so nice to us! I’m glad we don’t have to go to some big Christmas party or anything…”</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima halfway listened to him speak, allowing himself just the slightest upwards quirk of his lips. Almost subconsciously, they slipped into the familiar rhythm. He pulled the car into gear and perfectly pulled it out and onto the road. It rumbled along the dark road, illuminated only by its headlights and the occasional street lamp, while Yamaguchi plugged in the AUX cord and selected a playlist.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as the first song fazed into play, he knew which playlist it was, though he’d already guessed correctly beforehand: “Saltwater”. Most of Yamaguchi’s playlists, Tsukki had found after scrolling through them once while the other had been in the shower, were puns of sorts.</p><p> </p><p>“Yellow”, for example, was the one he played if it was morning or springtime or the sky was bright, and Tsukki was grumpy. “WcDonald’s” was the one he played when they were on their way to a restaurant or a theater or even the grocery store, and Tsukki was grumpy. “Pepper” was the one he played at any time when <em>he </em>was grumpy, which admittedly wasn’t often.</p><p> </p><p>“Saltwater”, though, was the one Yamaguchi played on special occasions - at least, occasions special to <em>them. </em>The moments they knew they’d remember best in, say, ten years. The quiet moments, the nostalgic moments, the times when they both were silently thinking of each other and the rhythms they fell into when they least expected it. Their relationship was built upon the silent language they’d built over the many years they’d known each other.</p><p> </p><p>~•°•°---------------------°•°•~</p><p> </p><p>Every year since they’d met, back in junior high, Yamaguchi had spent Christmas at the Tsukishima household. Tsukki never asked why, but the answer came to him, anyways, when the other had showed up at his house unannounced one day. It had been almost a year since they’d met and become friends, and Yamaguchi had stayed over enough that it wasn’t any trouble this time around.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Tsukki,” he’d cried, between wails.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Tsukki had winced at his damp, red face, but dragged him to his room, anyways. They’d sat on his bed until Yamaguchi had calmed down, tightly hugging one of the many dinosaur plushies scattered around. He’d looked up, eyes rimmed with red, but thankfully now dry.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“My family… we got into a fight. And Mom’s leaving, and she’s moving to America, and I’m staying here with Dad, and they’re mad at each other, and--” He’d broken down into tears again, burying his face into the soft, green plushie.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I’d furrowed my brow, feeling uncomfortable, but something within me had twisted. I reached out a tentative hand to the then much smaller Yamaguchi and rested it on his back. I kept it there as he cried, looking grimly at the wall.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Since then, it was an unspoken agreement that he would stay over as much as he could, to the point where it had become much more of his home than his house had ever been. We never received any complaints from his father, so we decided that until then, we’d take care of him. We spent every Christmas together, and for the past few years, we were old enough to be left home alone on the holidays, so it was routine by now.</p><p> </p><p>~•°•°---------------------°•°•~</p><p> </p><p>When they finally arrived home, at Tsukki’s house, it had begun to snow. Yamaguchi hopped out into the cold, but didn’t seem to notice as he twirled and grinned, sticking his tongue out and letting a snowflake drift onto it. Tsukishima stepped out slower, but was nevertheless taking in the sight of the slowly whitening world around them. The car beeped and locked, but the house remained silent.</p><p> </p><p>They crunched their way through the yard, and Yamaguchi blew on his hands and rubbed them together as Tsukki unlocked the door. He brushed gratefully past and into the warmer entranceway. Tsukki did the same, locking the door behind them and flicking on the lights. Yamaguchi’s cheeks and ears and nose were red with the cold, and even as he sniffed and tears leaked out of his eyes, he grinned.</p><p> </p><p>“What time is it, Tsukki?” he asked as they kicked off their snowy shoes.</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima glanced at his phone.</p><p> </p><p>The Tsukishima household wasn’t small, but it wasn’t huge, either. Once you stepped through the door from the entrance, you entered the living and dining room. On your right was a closet, and on your left was a door to the outdoor eating area, and just past that were the stairs leading upwards, and past that was the bathroom. The kitchen was on the far end, separated from the living room only by a half-wall.</p><p> </p><p>The stairs led directly into the <em>tatami </em>room, which was connected to a long hallway. From left to right, the four doors in this hallway led to Mrs. Tsukishima’s bedroom, Tsukki and Yamaguchi’s bedroom, a small bathroom, and Akiteru’s bedroom, respectively.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s 9:30,” Tsukki told him as they headed up the stairs.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Really? </em>I’m still not used to it getting darker earlier this time of year…” As they crossed the <em>tatami </em>room to the hallway, Yamaguchi’s growling stomach was as audible as his embarrassed giggling afterwards. “Wanna eat something later?”</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima hummed in vague agreement and pushed his bedroom door open. A bunk bed on the left took up most of the room. Across from it was a large, double-door wardrobe, and to its right were two desks lining the corner of the room. He sat on the lower bunk with a sigh, finally able to take off his damp sweatshirt and toss it into the laundry basket. Yamaguchi took off his own snowy clothes, and they soon followed. He sat beside Tsukki, still smiling faintly, and they flopped onto their backs simultaneously.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s your battery, Tsukki?”</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima silently lifted up a hand, thinking. Yamaguchi smiled at the rare gesture of affection and took it, lacing their fingers together. The comforting weight of their joined hands, as well as the familiar territory of their room, sharpened Tsukki’s mind, and he was able to focus on and gauge his exhaustion.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay,” he said, finally. He took off his glasses with his free hand and wiped them on his thankfully dry shirt before replacing them. “Let’s eat.”</p><p> </p><p>~•°•°---------------------°•°•~</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(Note: “Tatami” is “a rush-covered straw mat forming a traditional Japanese floor covering”. “A tatami room is a fixture in washitsu, or traditional Japanese interior design. Once the mark of nobility, modern tatami rooms serve as study areas in temples and as living or sleeping areas in homes.”)</em>
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